Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Sweet Dinner Rolls and a Giveaway (Now Closed)

Nowadays everyone trying to eat more healthy and like everyone else I am trying to cut down on sugar and consume it in moderations. I have heard about this great product called Xagave (pronounced Za-gah-vay) that is an organically grown premium blend of nectars derived from Agave Tequiliana (Blue Agave) and Agave Salmiana (White Agave) plants. It is an answer to all the blood sugar woes. Xagave offers a number of health benefits over regular processed sugar; including calorie savings, fiber and calcium content, and low glycemic index. A lot of people are reluctant to try sugar substitutes in their recipes because they are worried about loss of flavor and after taste but Xagave is different. It has a mild and perfectly sweet flavor making it great for all kinds of drinks, dressing, sauces and baking. I bake these sweet bread using Xagave and the bread turn out so soft and moist. You can hardly tell that there is no sugar in the recipes. Thanks to the representative of Xagave for giving me the sample of this wonderful product along with the cookbook.Xagave would like to give away a bottle of Xagave and the Delicious Meets Nutritious cookbook to one lucky winner. The giveaway will end on December 6th 2009 at 6.00pm (Eastern Time). All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address here and I will randomly draw the winner . GOOD LUCK!!

1. Pour milk into a saucepan and bring to a scald. Set aside. Pour the Xagave or honey into a large bowl, add in the shortening and butter. Pour in the hot milk. Stir till all the shortening and butter is melted. Add in two cups of flour and mix till smooth. Allow to cool to a temperature of 110F2. Add in the salt and yeast. Mix till smooth and allow to rest uncovered for 15 minutes. Add in another cup of flour and stir. Add some flour to a flat surface and pour out the mixture on top. Begin to knead and slowly add in more flour as you need. You may or may not need all the 4 1/2 cups of flour. You just don't want the dough to be to sticky. Knead for 10 minutes3. Pour a little oil into a clean bowl. Place your kneaded dough into the bowl and turn over till all sides are very lightly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour or till double in bulk4. At this stage you can shape your dough into any shape you like. Cover with plastic wrap for 1 hour or till double in size. Brush the tops with an egg wash to get that shiny coating. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds or poppy seeds.5. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven for 15-20 min (depend on the size of your buns) or until golden brown.

I don't know whether you'll be able to send that to Australia because we have a rather strict custom system here but since you did not specifically say it's within USA readers only (I am very happy because many many giveaways always state that down!!!! I'm blogging from Australia for God's sake!), I'm gonna leave my email down here too because it's free and I am as cheap as that:

I am a diabetic so I have to be careful with sugar substitutes, but the other day I was watching Dr. Oz and he was talking about Agave. He said it is very good to use in diabetic cooking as it doesn't raise Blood Glucose like sugar and most substitutes. Well, I asked my care physician and she said yes, go ahead and try it and see how it works for me. My problem is finding the stuff. But I would truly appreciate this cookbook.

I've been seeing lots of posts about Xagave lately, so I wonder if it'll take off like Agave... I actually like the taste of agave more than honey; when eaten straight, agave leaves a cleaner and smoother after taste that is light and not at all sticky. Is Xagave the same?

I'd love to try anything that substitutes sugar. coming from a family of diabetics, sugar intake is major concern to me. so please include me in your draw. i live in malaysia, btw. love your blog. u're a very skilled cook, everything u make looks great!

I hope I'm not too late. I'd really LOVE to have a bottle of Xagave as I'm a real health freak. I like eating sweet breads and cookies but don't like using refined sugar as I know sugar is our immune system's enemy. With this wonderful product, my kids, hubby and I can savely enjoy our homemade breads, cakes, cookies and other food without any guilt!

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About Me

I was born and raised in Malaysia and now live in Northern California, USA with my wonderful husband Carlos. I love to bake and cook. It is very relaxing and I find my creativity flowing in the kitchen. I creates this blog to record all my cooking and baking adventures and also share my tested recipes with you.
I don’t consider myself an expert but all the recipes here are tried and tested by me, unless noted otherwise.
If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to do so, If you’re feeling shy or have a question about a recipe, drop me a line instead. My e.mail address is at my profile.
To know more about my life you can always hop over to my other blog.